DUI statistics 03-01-04

MEDIA RELEASE

During the week of February 23-29, 2004, Big Island police arrested 16 motorists for drunk driving. Two of the drivers were involved in a traffic crashes, and one was under the age of 21.

So far this year, there have been 153 DUI arrests, compared to 108 during the same period last year, an increase of 42 percent. The numbers of arrests by district were:

District

Weekly Total

Year to Date

Hamakua North Hilo South Hilo Puna Ka’u Kona South Kohala North Kohala

1 1 3 0 1 9 0 1

2 1 38 23 2 74 10 3

Island Total

16

153

There have been 362 major accidents so far this year, compared to 362 during the same period last year.

There have been seven traffic fatalities on the Big Island so far this year, compared to two for the same period last year, an increase of 250 percent. There have been no fatalities attributed to drunk driving so far this year, compared to one at this time last year. There have been no drug-related fatalities so far this year, compared to one at the same time last year.